Expect more wildfires in Europe and beyond as society grapples with warming climate

The frightening wildfires afflicting Europe duringbouts of extreme heat this summer are a scourge theworld will see more of in the future, scientists say.

That raises questions about what can be done to mitigate their impactas society grapples with the larger challenges of trying to limit the warming of the planet.Though there are steps to be takento prevent harm to humans and habitat,the bottom line is what we're seeing in Europewill be an enduring challenge.

"What we are witnessing now is a preview of the world we are leaving to our kids,"Vctor Resco de Dios, a professor of forestry at the University of Lleida inSpain, told CBC News via email.

A bleak backdrop

There havebeen prior warnings thatwildfires will become more intense and occur more oftenin decades to come.

Recent reports from Europe which has seen nearly1,900 wildfires so far this year,almostfour times the average from 2006 to 2021illustrate the threatsuch fires already pose.

In southwestern France earlier this week, beachgoersin Arcachon loungednear the Dune du Pilat, Europe's tallest sand dune,as smoke from wildfires billowed into the sky. Thousands were forcedtoleave nearby campsites on short notice.

Two wildfires in the wider Gironde region of France were reportedly contained by Thursday, though officials said they wouldn't be fully extinguished for weeks.

In neighbouring Spain, the recent spate of wildfireshave claimed lives of a firefighter and a sheep farmer.Fires there have forced thousands to flee, though some have sincereturned home.

In Britain, London Mayor Sadiq Khan said on Tuesday the city's firefighters hadfaced their busiest day since the Second World War, as a result of fires that broke out during therecord-breaking heat wave.

WATCH | Forest fire outside London:

Forest fire burns outside London as Britain records hottest day ever

2 years ago

Duration 0:30

A Forest fire burns in Shirley Hills on the outskirts of South London as Britain declares a record for the highest temperature to date.

High heat, fiercefires

The hot weather isjust one aspect of why wildfires are plaguing Europe.High winds and drought also help propel fires through forests and to places where people are.

Friederike Otto, a senior lecturer in climate science atGrantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, told The Associated Presssome of these factors are particularly acute in southern Europe where summer wildfires are effectively "the new norm."

That's not to say the risk goes away as the seasons change.

"The fire season is lengthening globally," said theUniversity of Lleida's Resco de Dios, pointing to recent fires that have struckPortugal in early July, ahead of the brunt of its typical fire season later in August.

Resco de Dios said seasonal fire risk depends a loton the weatherand how dry the landscape is.And that has implications for future wildfire risks as the world seesmore frequent episodesof extreme weather.

"The longer the dry spells under climate change, the earlier the fire season will start and the longer duration it will have," hesaid.

Deadly consequences

On continental Europe's southwestern edge, Portugal has faced gruelling temperatures alongsidewildfires that have burned through tens of thousands of hectares of land.

There has also been loss of life: A pilot was killed in a crash, while fighting a wildfirein the country's northandan elderly couple died while trying to flee a wildfire in a vehicle, according toReuters.

"What is happening in Portugal is tragic," said Susan Gardner, the directorof the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)'s ecosystems division.

And Portugal has previouslyseen the devastation such fires can cause, whendozens of people diedin wildfires there in 2017.

Prevention efforts

In the wake of those deadly fires, Portugal implemented a more comprehensiveapproachto fire managementin a bid to prevent harm and loss of life, Gardner said. This involvedmore engagement at the local level, in part to help manage the risks of wildfires in rural areas.

The UNEPhas called for governments to spend twice as much onprevention, planning and recovery forwildfire events as they do ondirect response efforts.

"Then you're actually reducing the risk, you're reducing the damage," said Gardner.

Resco de Diossees a need to "take immediate action to curb the fire problem" with a focus on the land itself.

"We must make a large-scale transformation of our landscapes so they become adapted to the future climate and fire regimes," he said, noting thiswould include efforts to remove excessive vegetation that can fuelwildfires.

Facing the future

Dealing withmore intense wildfires may be daunting, but scientists express optimism that we can make changes.

"This is not an act of God," said Otto, the climate science lecturer. "This is, to a large degree, our doing." But, she said, humans have quite a lot of power to do something about it.

Otto said things we can do to adapt include putting an end to the burning of fossil fuels and educating people about climate change.

More generally, Gardner is optimistic aboutgrowing public awareness of the perils of climate change, particularly among young people and thus the capacity to push for needed changes.

She says that every year people becomemore cognizant of "how the decisions we make as individuals contribute to the big picture in terms of the climate future that we want."